Bob Dole inspires a whole new trend

The Birmingham News today serves up an in-depth profile of Lt. Gov. Lucy Baxley that focuses primarily on fleshing out the details of her oft-repeated biography: small-town girl marries politico, starts over after divorce, makes good, then heads into politics herself. You've heard this before.

The story isn't entirely the same old, same old, though. For one thing, it points out, as I did last month, that the Democratic gubernatorial candidate, contrary to the widespread perception, has offered her positions on a variety of issues. It's just that they're merely posted on her website instead of touted prominently on the campaign trail. State political scientists were split on the wisdom of that approach at this juncture in the race.

In another telling lesson, we learn that Baxley, like her garden-shear-wielding opponent, former Gov. Don Siegelman, is perfectly capable of referring to herself in the third person, even if she does shift her pronoun usage by the end: "Lucy is absolutely proud of the fact that I have not told people a big, appealing lie."